Ghana News Agency

Sunday 9th September, 2018

By
Emelia Addae, GNA
Accra, Sept 09, GNA - Mrs Hannah
Owusu-Koranteng, the Chairperson of the Kasa Initiative, Ghana, has urged civil
society organisations (CSOs) to participate actively in the Green Climate Fund
(GCF) to create the right conditions for public and private investors.
The GCF is a financial entity of the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Chan

By
Emelia Addae, GNA

Accra, Sept 09, GNA - Mrs Hannah
Owusu-Koranteng, the Chairperson of the Kasa Initiative, Ghana, has urged civil
society organisations (CSOs) to participate actively in the Green Climate Fund
(GCF) to create the right conditions for public and private investors.

The GCF is a financial entity of the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Paris Agreement, dedicated
to supporting global effort to respond to the challenges of climate change.

At the Second National Stakeholders Session
for the CSOs on the GCF held in Accra, Mrs Owusu-Koranteng said there was the
need for the CSOs to fashion out climate-friendly projects or technologies that
would attract public and private investors.

It was under the theme: “Sharing and Learning:
Towards a More Inclusive GCF National Process.”

It was facilitated by Kasa Initiative, Ghana
and CARE International, Ghana conveyors and co-conveyors of the Sustainable
Development Goal (SDG 13), the platform which focuses on climate change.

Mr Peter Justice Dery, the Deputy Director of
Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and
Innovation, who chaired the function, said it was necessary for the public,
private and CSOs to generate interest in climate smart programmes and
technology.

He said they must also invite the GCF and
Nationally Designated Authority (NDA) to share information.

Mr Peter Bruun Clausen, the Policy Advisor
with CARE International, Ghana, said the GCF process in Ghana had come a long
way in ensuring an inclusive decision-making process.Mr Sampson Samuel Ogallah, a Senior Climate
Change Specialist at Solidaridad International, called for clear guidelines
between adaptation and development proposals for effective participation in the
GCF.

He called for the decentralisation of the GCF
so that each region like Africa and Asia would have regional offices where
proposals and projects could be reviewed and approved.

Mr Foster Gyamfi, a member from the Real
Sector Division of the NDA Secretariat, hosted under the Ministry of Finance,
said the NDA had resolved to involve more accredited CSOs in the GCF Technical
Advisory Committee to ensure transparency.

Mr Solomon Ocquaye Tettey-Akpeng, the Deputy
Head, Risk Management at Ecobank Ghana Limited, gave the assurance that the
Bank would take opportunity at the next GCF board meeting to submit a proposal
for the benefit of Ghana.

Resource persons at the function explained
that the current GCF accreditation and proposal processes for Ghana are in two
parts; Ecobank takes care of the credit and loans project component and the
Social Investment Fund caters for the grants component.